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About this project

I live in an
environment where most of the news is good news. In my opinion,
this news is crap.

- Zola

HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE traces the evolution of two of China’s first citizen reporters as they navigate the ever-evolving political risks and the technical barriers created by what is commonly known as The Great Firewall. This inspiring story offers a glimpse of contemporary China and grassroots reporting through the lens of two unique individuals.

Over the past four
years we have been tracking the story of two Chinese citizen reporters, 27-year-old ZOLA and 57-year-old TIGER TEMPLE, as they travel throughout mainland
China documenting the forgotten villages and urban struggles of a rapidly developing country. What started as a small video project turned into over 600
hours of verite footage that brought us to cities like Beijing,
Guangzhou, Chongqing, Xian, Wuhan, Taipei and even Bucharest, Romania, as well
as countless small villages deep within China’s countryside.

We are honored and thrilled that HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE has been officially selected to premiere at the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL in April 2012. It will be an amazing venue to launch the film and is the awesome result of the hard work and collaboration of our subjects and filmmaking team.

ABOUT THE MAKING OF THE FILM

In 2007, I read an article in the New York Times about an eminent domain case in Chongqing Municipality where some tenants were resisting eviction. What caught my attention was how the article noted that "Chinese bloggers" were the first to spread the news. I was curious who these Chinese bloggers were and a quick web search led to a young man named Zola whose website featured the slogan, ‘You never know what you can do until you try,’ and a picture of him buried up to his neck in sand at the beach. I sent Zola an email and was pleasantly surprised by his invitation to meet, which simply stated, “Welcome to China.”

So started a four-year adventure documenting Zhou Shuguang, AKA Zola, that took us from a small rural village in Hunan Province to the hustle of Beijing, and brought Zola from his youthful quest for fame to a more refined interest in web freedom and circumvention techniques. Along the way we met Zhang Shihe, AKA Tiger Temple, an historian and scholar who put much of what we were seeing into broader relief and inspired us with his dedication to help the less fortunate gain public attention and legal assistance.

Over the years we have been truly moved by Zola and Tiger Temple’s stories and their efforts to understand their own lives while attempting to change the status quo for others. We have been allowed to witness the great personal sacrifice and potential risks that come with speaking truth to power from the perspective of two vastly different generations. And it is their belief in the work they do, as well as their commitment to this documentary, that fuel our desire to do their stories justice.

WHY ARE WE FUNDRAISING?

We have been fortunate enough to receive the support and guidance of various organizations like ITVS, Sundance, IFP, MacArthur Foundation and Center for Asian American Media. But shooting in China, editing and translating over 600 hours of footage has been a monumental task and we are just short of completing this film. We face a few crucial hurdles before and after we take the film to Tribeca.

•
Final Translations & Subtitles: Because the film is in multiple dialects
of Chinese, a final pass of translation and subtitling is needed for both
English and some Mandarin speaking audiences.

• Graphics
are being developed by several talented designers to help translate Tiger
and Zola’s writings onto the screen.

•
Music composition and licensing.

• Outreach: Working with a social media coordinator and PR team to get the word out about the film and develop meaningful future screening events. Production of outreach and publicity materials for educational screenings.

DONATE

Everyone who pledges becomes a part of this team and can help get this film out into the world. Please choose a level
of donation that works for you and receive some great merch. As a reminder of
how Kickstarter works, we have until April 23rd to meet our goal of $23,500. If we don’t raise this amount by then,
we receive nothing, so please make a donation and share this project with
anyone who might be interested.

FAQ

Rewards

Pledge $5 or more

HIGH FIVE! Your name will be forever etched in our hearts and tweeted through the blogosphere as a GENEROUS SUPPORTER.

Estimated delivery:May 2012

You selected

Pledge $25 or more

52 backers

A PERSONAL THANK YOU! Your name on our website, PLUS a set of HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE buttons and a personalized HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE postcard featuring one of Zola or Tiger Temple's unique aphorisms.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2012

You selected

Pledge $40 or more

46 backers

NEW REWARD! A DIGITAL DOWNLOAD of the feature film (estimated release 2013), PLUS all the offerings at the $25 level.

Estimated delivery:Oct 2013

You selected

Pledge $50 or more

98 backers

THE DVD: All the offerings at the $25 level, PLUS a HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE DVD (upon release).

Estimated delivery:Sep 2013

You selected

Pledge $100 or more

33 backers

THE DVD + POSTER: All the offerings at the $50 level, AND an original HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE poster, signed by the director.

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $125 or more

2 backers

NEW REWARD! FOR THE NPR FAN: A personalized voicemail message by THIS AMERICAN LIFE talent and American public radio producer/writer, Starlee Kine, PLUS the DVD + POSTER and all the offerings at the $100 level.

Estimated delivery:Sep 2012

You selected

Pledge $200 or more

2 backers

NEW REWARD! COFFEE & CONSULTATION WITH ZOLA: During his stay in NYC have a one hour one-on-one consultation with Zola and ask him any technical or social media related questions you may have. Or just hang out with him and swap stories! Plus the DVD, POSTER and all the offerings at $50 level. (Meeting must happen before 4/29/12)

Estimated delivery:Apr 2012

You selected

Pledge $250 or more

4 backers

For the fashion blogger! All the offerings at the $100 level, PLUS an exclusive HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE tote bag.

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $250 or more

2 backers
Limited (8 left of 10)

For the music blogger! All the offerings at the $100 level, PLUS original music by Beijing based artist Yan Jun or Brooklyn based artist Che Chen.

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $250 or more

3 backers
Limited (7 left of 10)

For the media rights blogger! All the offerings at the $100 level, PLUS a signed copy of Rebecca MacKinnon's new book, CONSENT OF THE NETWORKED.

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $500 or more

4 backers

For the budding citizen journalist! All the offerings at our $100 level, a tote bag AND our exclusive Citizen Reporter Kit - a fanny pack featuring some of the gear and gadgets used by Zola and Tiger Temple out in the field!

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $750 or more

0 backers
Limited (4 left of 4)

For the art blogger! All the offerings at the $500 level PLUS a set of 2 handblown glasses by talented San Francisco based artist J. Lin-Hsien Kung!

http://jlinhsienkung.wordpress.com/

Estimated delivery:Sep 2012

You selected

Pledge $850 or more

0 backers
Limited (6 left of 6)

NEW REWARD! A ONE-DAY VIDEO SHOOT, equipment included, with cinematographer Steve Maing. Using the same camera and sound package used to film HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE or your own camera, he will film your event or documentary in HD video. (Travel expenses & lighting not included). PLUS all the offerings at the $100 level.

Estimated delivery:May 2012

You selected

Pledge $1,000 or more

1 backer

PREMIERE TICKETS: All the offerings at the $500 level, PLUS two tickets to the film's premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival or an alternate screening in your town, and your name in lights (otherwise known as the film's rolling credits)!

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $1,500 or more

0 backers

PRIVATE SCREENING: All the offerings at the $1000 level PLUS a private screening of HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE for your class or group and Q&A with the director. (In person or by skype depending on location)

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $5,000 or more

0 backers

CO-PRODUCER: Your commitment to this project surpasses our wildest dreams! All the offerings at the $2,500 level AND a CO-PRODUCER credit on the film.